1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly to an apparatus, method and computer program product for controlling the screen brightness of a mobile terminal.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, in line with the rapid development in mobile communication technology enabling image communications, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is commonly used for mobile terminals and camera-attached mobile terminals are increasingly being used.
The LCD is advantageous in that text, pictures, animations or the like can be freely expressed and power consumption is low. However, a disadvantage with the LCD is that a display content can not be easily recognized in the dark. Due to such a disadvantage, LCD terminals use a backlight at a rear surface of the LCD.
In general, the backlight of the terminal is turned on according to a user's action such as when the user initiates or receives a phone call, presses a key or opens a folder. Then, the intensity of light (the intensity of illumination) emitted by the backlight is set to be suitable for the darkest situation around the terminal (or the user).
Further, the backlight used for the terminal is a device that consumes a relatively large amount of power. In the related art, the backlight is simply controlled to be turned on or off.
In addition, because the intensity of illumination of the backlight set for the terminal is designed to be suitable for night time or a dark room, it is inappropriate for most people that are active during the day or in areas with lighting. In addition, the battery usage time is reduced because of the large consumption of power.